Having reached the midway mark of 2013, it’s time to look back at the year’s biggest selling R&B/hip-hop albums and singles so far. Not surprisingly, Justin Timberlake’s “The 20/20 Experience” takes the cake as the best-selling R&B/hip-hop set thus far this year with 2,037,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Of the year’s 26 chart weeks, Timberlake’s comeback has spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, the longest run at the top since Drake’s “Take Care” posted 12 weeks in 2011-12.

“The 20/20 Experience” is also the only R&B/Hip-Hop album to break one million copies this year, let alone two. As a matter of fact, the last time an R&B/hip-hop album sold more than a million by mid-year was 2010 when Sade’s “Soldier of Love” and Eminem’s “Recovery” logged 1.2 million and 1.1 million copies, respectively.

Hip-hop newcomers Macklemore & Ryan Lewis claim the second spot in the R&B/Hip-Hop 2013 mid-year album sales recap with “The Heist” selling 653,000 copies in 2013. Overall, the set has sold 867,000 copies since its October 2012 release. Solidifying the Seattle duo’s dominance this year is the fact its first two singles “Thrift Shop,” featuring Wanz, and “Can’t Hold Us,” featuring Ray Dalton, are the top two selling R&B/hip-hop digital songs with 5,558,000 and 3,129,000 downloads, respectively.

Earlier this year on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, “Thrift Shop” broke the record for the longest-running No. 1 by a rap song, with 14 weeks logged at No. 1. It surpassed DJ Khaled’s “I’m On One,” featuring Drake, Rick Ross and Lil Wayne (11 weeks at No. 1 in 2011).

Comparatively, 2012 and 2013’s R&B/Hip-Hop mid-year reports are fairly similar. Only three albums sold over 500,000 copies by this point in both years. And making a distinction between the subgenres of R&B and hip-hop, three R&B albums made this year’s top 10 year-to-date sellers, as compared to four last year.

Mid-Year 2013

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums

Artist

Title

YTD Sales*

1

Justin Timberlake

The 20/20 Experience

2,037,000

2

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

The Heist

653,000

3

Lil Wayne

I Am Not a Human Being II

503,000

4

Rihanna

Unapologetic

493,000

5

Kanye West

Yeezus

392,000

6

J. Cole

Born Sinner

381,000

7

A$AP Rocky

Long.Live.A$AP

378,000

8

Kendrick Lamar

good kid, m.A.A.d city

364,000

9

Alicia Keys

Girl on Fire

287,000

10

T.I.

Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head

231,000

*SOURCE: NIELSEN SOUNDSCAN, year to date sales through the week ending June 30, 2013

Mid-Year 2013

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Songs

Artist

Title

YTD Sales*

1

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (ft. Wanz)

Thrift Shop

5,558,000

2

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (ft. Ray Dalton)

Can't Hold Us

3,129,000

3

Justin Timberlake (ft. Jay-Z)

Suit & Tie

2,574,000

4

Robin Thicke (ft. Pharrell & T.I.)

Blurred Lines

2,406,000

5

Drake

Started From the Bottom

1,703,000

6

Lil Wayne (ft. Drake & Future)

Love Me

1,600,000

7

Alicia Keys

Girl on Fire

1,447,000

8

A$AP Rocky (ft. Drake, 2 Chainz & Kendrick Lamar)

F**kin Problems

1,236,000

9

Rihanna

Pour It Up

1,093,000

10

Emeli Sande

Next to Me

1,001,000

*SOURCE: NIELSEN SOUNDSCAN, year to date sales through the week ending June 30, 2013